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- 2. As technology continues to evolve, communication has become increas- ingly vital to both businesses and consumers alike. This mobile trend has sparked innovation today in smartphones, tablets, and other mobile technology. As this revolution continues to mature, mobile strategy has become essential vital to the growth and survival of businesses across all industries, as business today revolves around creating channels of com- munication between the consumer and the business. Social trends of the consumers can reflect in sales for a business, but only to those businesses attentive to the needs of their customers. Establishing this level of communication between a consumer and a business is not easy, but that’s where mobile comes in. MOBILE APPS FOR A MOBILE WORLD 2
- 3. FOUR OUT OF EVERY FIVE CONSUMERS ARE NOW USING SMARTPHONES TO SHOP1 , Three quarters of the projected U.S. population is expected to have smartphones by 2016, that’s 246,000,000 people2 . On average, a mobile user makes 6 web visits and internet searches per day3 , which equates to 1,476,000,000 average interactions on mobile devices per day. Of these interactions, 70% (or 1,033,200,000 device interactions) are expected to lead to action on websites within one hour4 . These actions include purchases, information gathering, and phone calls. which means a successful mobile business strategy is imperative to a successful com- pany. Customers can now access a wealth of information from any location that has internet access; from a company’s catalogue of products to customers’ reviews and ratings. And the smartphone demographic is only getting bigger. By 2016, nearly 75% of the U.S. population is expected to be using a smartphone. Although nearly three quarters of the United States is expected to be using a smartphone within the next two years, some businesses may still question the validity of creating and maintaining a mobile application. Here are some numbers to support mobile development: 1From Brick-and-Mortar to Mobile Click-and-Order: Which Retailers are Carving Out Space in the M-Commerce Market? (http://www.comscore.com/Insights/Press_Releases/2012/9/Retailers_Carving_Out_Space_in_the_M-Commerce_Market) 2 328,000,000 residents in the US by 2016 ( http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0003.pdf) 328,000,000*.75 = 246,000,000 3 Tomi Ahonen 2013 almanac (http://blog.eloqua.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/mobile-checks-per-day.jpg) 4Mobile Behavior: Big Game Seating — A Study with SurveyMonkey http://www.iacquire.com/blog/mobile-behavior-big-game-seating-a-study-with-surveymonkey
- 4. Before diving too quickly into what the mobile industry is, here are a few key terms in mobile business: The global app economy was worth $68 billion in 2013, and is projected to grow to $143 billion in 20165 . These numbers show the strength of the mobile industry but also that significant growth is com- ing. Businesses that have not yet created mobile applications are now realizing the importance of having a mobile pres- ence and stepping up to fill this gap. But before an application can be created, there are many aspects to consider in its development and creation. 5The global app economy was worth $68 billion in 2013, and is projected to grow to $143 billion in 2016 (http://www. visionmobile.com/product/developer-economics-q1-2014-state-developer-nation/)
- 5. Mobile applications today are found across many sites, mostly notably including the apple app store, the google app store, and the windows app store. The applications offered on these online stores vary in pricing, with many applications being sold for free. The paid applications tend to have a heavier development to constitute a high- er price, while the free applications rely on ad revenue within the application as well as in-app purchases. There are a wide variety of applications on the market. Many of these applications are made by businesses, and many are also made by freelance programmers. The professional applications made for businesses such as Target or Walmart are made by either in-house technical teams, or outsourced to technology firms that specialize in mobile development. Smaller applications that provide basic functionality, such as flashlight applications, tend to be developed by independent programmers. Finding Today’s Apps Who Makes Apps? 5
- 6. Apps are also beginning to play a large role in education. As the majority of students are growing up with smartphone and tablet technol- ogy, transitioning into an educational use for these devices is easy to do. Edu- cators also believe that this technology is useful in the classroom, as 81% of K-12 teachers believe that “tablets enrich classroom education”6 . Since this technology is readily available, and many students have been previ- ously exposed to similar devices, developing quality apps for education is the next step. These applications also have the potential to vastly improve student learning, as each student is able to have an application customize their learning experience to improve upon areas that need the most attention.
- 7. Mobile in Business Applications are becoming commonplace in the business world, as conve- nience is a huge selling point for consumers. Interacting with consumers has become more influential in business today, as companies work to successfully use social media and mobile platforms to extend their business functionality and strategy. GOING MOBILE DOES NOT ALWAYS MEAN INTERACTING DIRECTLY WITH THE CUSTOMER EITHER. MOBILE APPLICATIONS CAN AND HAVE BEEN USED FOR INTERNAL OPERATIONS WITHIN BUSINESSES. For example, some companies use custom mobile applications for their sales force. This empowers employees to more efficiently complete their job and cre- ate more value for the business. 5The global app economy was worth $68 billion in 2013, and is projected to grow to $143 billion in 2016 7
- 8. SAP® held a competition to create a mobile application to assist businesses in their environ- ment. One such application, aimed at whole- sale and distribution companies, was created efficiently and effectively to manage consum- er orders. The application was designed to be disrup- tive, and create better business processes. The app focused on real-time access for customer orders, as there was no previous methodol- ogy which brought such a high level of con- venience to order tracking. There were also many other features regarding order tracking, such as order prioritization and quick methods for company contact. Pictured beside is the application, developed by GroMobi partner company ExpertIG. When businesses today are looking for a way to gain competitive advantage, they often look to their internal processes. When consid- ering these processes, mobile apps can add value by becoming a positive disruptive force in the business. Specifically, mobile apps engage in Business Process Improvement (BPI) and allow a firm to become more efficient in its processes. Improving Business With Mobile Apps
- 9. Support Technology and software improve over time, and mobile applications move with them. In order to remain relevant, applications are updated and supported as necessary. The key to mobile success is establishing a foundational road map and product vision. By aligning a client’s user needs, goals, and mobile strategy, proper in-depth planning and attention to detail is enabled. With these objectives in mind, developing the mobile application comes next. Making a Successful Application Plan The first step in many successful processes, planning provides a blueprint for how the mobile app is going to be developed, from operational aspects to deadlines. Design Mobile applications need to fill a gap in the business, and the design stage answers “how”. Here, a plan of how the application meets the needs of the business and oper- ates within the business is created. Develop Knowing now what the app will do, development can now start. During this phase, the mobile application is coded and aligned to the needs of the business. Test User needs change, and developers can make mistakes. This section of the mobile ap- plication process focuses on preparing a mobile application for successful deployment by testing and correcting functionality and alignment to client needs. Deploy The mobile application is now ready to be used in its intended environment. This stage includes ensuring successful use of the application through any required train- ing or app specific implementation. 9
- 10. Simplicity An overly complex app with confuse users and be negatively disruptive to a business process. A well-designed app with have a strong element of simplicity and an ease of learning. Empathy Understanding perspective is a large part of developing a mobile application. Users have to be able to quickly and easily use an applica- tion, so development must reflect the perspective of prospective users. Functionality A good app will not only meet the business needs set forth for it, but also exceed the re- quirements given. Efficient functionality within an application is a must, especially with regards to the previous points of simplicity and empathy. What Does A Successful App Look Like? Besides being aesthetically pleasing, what does a successful app look like? This answer falls within the idea of BPI mentioned earlier. The goal of a mobile application is to successfully provide value to a business through the improvement of current processes or by augmenting a current process with new capabilities. Yet beyond the business application an application must fill, there are also
- 11. Mobile apps have a multitude of uses in today’s world, across both business and education. An effective application will positively disrupt a business or educational process in order to make it stronger and more efficient. Learning how to create one of these apps, or having an expert company create an application for you is increas- ingly important. This is where GroMobi excels. GroMobi is a mobile application development firm located in Harrisonburg, Virginia. GroMobi brings to life capabili- ties within organizations by leveraging this power of mobility. Our mobile strategists and turn-key operation enable ground breaking technology to optimize the every-day experience with mobile solutions. Wrapping Up Apps 11 (SOME MORE HERE ON GROMOBI CERTIFICATIONS AND AWARDS) 2014 Innovation in K12 Nominee (Shenandoah Valley Technology Council Tech Nite) (INSERT GROMOBI LOGO HERE) (Needed) GroMobi Recommends This section will have a write up regarding GroMobi’s guidance on creating a mobile application for 1) business and 2) education. Consulting Ben for the content. Also include partnering information. When considering building an application for business - BK TO PROVIDE CONTENT